Old Belarusian History Museum, History and art museum in Minsk, Belarus

The Old Belarusian History Museum is a cultural institution in Minsk housing objects from different periods of the country's past. The collection includes archaeological finds, artworks, everyday objects, and traditional crafts organized across various sections of the building.

Founded in 1977 at the Institute of Art History, Ethnography and Folklore of the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR, the museum opened in May 1979 to mark the academy's 50th anniversary. Its core collection came from years of art-history and ethnographic expeditions across Belarus led by institute staff under K. Krapiva.

The museum's name refers to the old Belarusian culture traced from the Stone Age to the 20th century. Its three halls follow that order: archaeology first, then sacred art with 16th–18th-century icons and 17th–19th-century textiles, and finally folk crafts such as woven belts, painted rugs and straw work.

Exhibits are organized by theme such as archaeology, art, and folk traditions, making it easy to visit sections according to your interests. Certain display areas are dedicated to objects collected after the nuclear incident.

The collection holds over a thousand examples of folk weaving and traditional straw objects that show regional handicraft techniques from across the country. These craft pieces are often overlooked despite offering important insight into everyday skills.